Hurricanes in Arizona?

If someone were to tell you that Arizona has a recorded history of been affected by hurricanes since the early 1920’s would think they were telling the truth or just full of hot air? Well, believe it or not, Arizona does in fact have a history of enduring the remnants of tropical cyclones for nearly 100 years.

Here’s how it works: when hurricanes begin to pick up from the eastern Pacific Ocean, they touchdown around Baja California and Sonora and typically die down before reaching any of the southwest United States.

While most of these “hurricanes” are technically classified as “tropical storms,” they still count for approximately 25% of the state’s rainfall. In 1997, the remnants of Hurricane Nora were responsible for a 25-hour rainfall here in the Valley, and in 1983, Tropical Storm Octave caused massive amounts of flash flooding. Arizona also experienced the remnants of Hurricane Norbert and Hurricane Odile this year alone!

So what does this mean for your air conditioning unit? Well, luckily most AC units are incredibly durable machines that can withstand heavy winds and rain. However, there have still been cases of flooded or damaged units. In most situations, a unit will be damaged due to an overexposure to water, but more likely the unit will become full of dirt and debris.

The most important thing you can do if you suspect your unit has been flooded is to call an expert AC unit repair company to schedule an emergency inspection. The staff and technicians at Weather Masters, Inc. pride themselves on being experts in all aspects of HVAC services and repair, and will be able to determine what repairs are necessary, or if the unit needs to be replaced. Before causing damage to yourself or your AC unit, contact us as soon as possible.